Until we occupy Parliament, MPs will keep laughing us off

The callousness with which our political and bureaucratic leaders—in the Executive and the Legislature—treat our tax money could make the most ardent pacifist entertain thoughts of violent actions against them. No country that can trump the callousness of these leaders.

From the bureaucrats and politicians in the executive, we have the looting of about Sh100 billion from the first Eurobond that simply disappeared, sent to accounts that the Treasury did not think we—the ones who will repay the loans—should know. There is the quadrupling of the SGR costs from the original Sh80 billion (from Mombasa to Kisumu) to the massive Sh320 billion (and only to Nairobi from Mombasa).

Then there is the Kimwarer and other dams’ scandals that have seen at least Sh21 billion evaporate. The NYS 1 and 2 scandals saw billions go into personal accounts with cash being carried around in sacks. Then there is the Mafya House overpricing scandals that ended up lining the pockets of an elite that masqueraded as marginalised.

And we should never forget the Kenya Pipeline and Kenya Power scandals that took directly from us, and which have caused increases in our payments for fuel and electricity.

In the absence of explanation or reason, we must always question how some people can donate Sh10 million every Sunday at churches, even as they falsely suggest that they do this because of their generous souls.

Now taking this plunder looting to another level, MPs have decided to forego the illegality of the looting done by the Executive and simply legalise their theft! So rather than have to make deals with many others, share the loot and perhaps face consequences if someone whistle blows, they are now simply looting our taxes in open daylight by passing laws that would make them the best paid MPs in the world, even though we are one of the poorest countries in the world!

The blood boils when you read the memorandum from Parliament seeking to justify their higher emoluments. We pay them for sitting in Parliament, but now they want an additional “buttocks” allowance to actually sit! They have cheap mortgages to buy their homes, but they also want house allowances! They want “night” allowances for being in Nairobi to do their work, but that is the base for their jobs!

Make no mistake: It is unconstitutional and illegal to pass laws that provide a personal benefit to those that pass the laws. Even though we regularly change our MPs, nothing seems to change, and we keep getting people into Parliament whose sole concern is getting richer and richer. In fact, one MP was quoted saying that he thought being an MP would mean paradise!

There are many reasons for this deep malaise in our leadership. First, if the executive continues to treat our taxes as a personal ATM that they can loot with impunity, then it is expecting too much of our MPs to be different. And if the Executive continues to centralise power through the Treasury and illegal directives and continues to ignore the Constitution when it feels like, MPs will simply do the same.

A war on corruption that does not jail those who proudly display the fruits of corruption either through their conspicuous consumption or through “donations” to politicians and churches tells us all that we can continue looting and plundering Kenyans’ hard-earned taxes.

Second, as long as elections are consistently stolen, then why not the public purse? We all know now, despite the protestations of a few sycophants, that the 2017 elections were stolen, and the current regime was only legitimised by the “hand-cheque” of March 2018.

Third, given the “six-piece” suit elections strategy that works so well in many parts of the country, our MPs know that we the voters do not really matter, no matter how much we whine, as the key is the person deciding on the party nominations. This strategy takes away our power as voters to hold the MP accountable, but every five years we seem to comfortably fall into the trap that the five “warlords” of the five big ethnic communities set for us!

And adding insult to injury, the MPs want to use our meagre taxes to nationalise a private company that has been looted to near bankruptcy, in a classic case of throwing good money after bad. Kenya Airways was a going concern until Titus Naikuni’s second term as CEO—and after KLM relinquished the Head of Finance position that it had held since the start of the KLM/KQ partnership--when things unraveled. It begun leasing planes exorbitantly from companies whose ownership is shrouded in mystery, suggesting deliberate mismanagement that Parliament should have investigated thoroughly.

We Kenyans have allowed these “mazimwi” (ogres) from the executive and legislature to continue ripping us off. Yes, we decry them on social media and in columns and on the airwaves; yes, we take them to court when we can. But until we can marshal tens of thousands of people and more to occupy Parliament, they will keep laughing us off.

- The writer is former KNCHR chair. [email protected]